Five of the Best: Stage-to-Screen Adaptations

With the release of 'Wicked: For Good' - the highly-anticipated conclusion to the cinematic version of 'Wicked the Musical' - here's a rundown of some of the greatest ever theatre-to-film adaptations.

Cinematic versions of theatre productions have been around for over a century. King John (1899) is understood to be the first play recorded on celluloid, a British production now sadly lost. Since then, a surprising number of theatre-to-film adaptations have arrived, some garlanded with major awards and proving enduring classics.

While there have been a number of mega-hits - last-year's Wicked being the most recent box office smash - stage-to-screen transitions are by no means without risk. Record-breaking theatre hits The Producers (2001) and The History Boys (2004) are recent-history examples of sellout shows receiving faithful film adaptations but failing to set the cinema box office alight, and receiving tepid responses from critics. It's nice to have them for posterity but unfortunate proof that an unforgettable live experience can become staid when transferred to a film set.

Dangers also include damaging an enduring show's ticket sales and, perhaps worst of all, forever tarnishing the legacy of a formerly beloved production. Director Tom Hooper won plaudits for his Oscar-nominated screen adaptation of Les Misérables in 2012 so perhaps it's understandable that he was later inspired to turn his lens on another stage classic. The result, Cats (2019), was a CGI fiasco and one of the biggest cinematic misfires of the past decade. With an all-star cast including Idris Elba, Taylor Swift and British stage royalty Sir Ian McKellen and Dame Judi Dench, the enduring legacy of the film will likely be the onslaught of critics' bile spewn on its opening.

Another considerable risk is that a perfect film adaptation of a stage show will of necessity haunt all future productions of the original source material. Ticket sales for the West End production of Wicked don't appear to be in decline but actors can nonetheless have a tough task bearing comparison with a revered screen performance - perhaps a testament to the filmmakers' success but potentially damaging to a show's likelihood of revival onstage.

Here, in chronological order, are five of our favourites...

A Streetcar Named Desire - Elia Kazan (1951)

Tennessee Williams' play A Streetcar Named Desire was a hit both on Broadway and the West End before being immortalised onscreen. The film version was directed by Elia Kazan, its original director on Broadway. While most of the principals remained, Kazan swapped-out his original Blanche DuBois, Jessica Tandy, for British actress Vivien Leigh - the originator of the role in the West End.

Not only does Kazan's film successfully evoke the steamy, almost suffocating atmosphere of mid-century New Orleans, it's often cited as marking the dawn of a new era for screen acting. Marlon Brando's muscular oaf Stanley Kowalski had already set hearts pounding when it played in New York but his fame scaled new heights when his performance hit international screens.

An unequivocal success, the movie won Oscars in all acting categories except one - Humphrey Bogart took the Best Actor gong over Brando.

There have been a number of successful Streetcars since - a vehicle for star actresses including Cate Blanchett, Rachel Weisz and Gillian Anderson - but it's impossible to escape the memory of Kazan's film, not least the mighty shadow cast by Brando.

The Entertainer - Tony Richardson (1960)

Just as A Streetcar Named Desire marked a turning point in American cinema, John Osborne's play Look Back in Anger was a pivotal moment in British theatre when in debuted at the Royal Court in 1956. The original 'angry young man', Osborne brought working class voices to the stage and ushered in the new genre of 'kitchen sink realism' - spawning the 'British New Wave' movement with gritty hit films such as Saturday Night and Sunday Morning (1960) and The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner (1962). Look Back in Anger was successfully adapted for the screen in 1959, starring Richard Burton, Mary Ure and Claire Bloom.

Osborne's follow-up was allegedly written at the request of its original star, Laurence Olivier - playing the fading comedian Archie Rice. Whilst Olivier had received past critical acclaim for his stage work and filmed Shakespeare adaptations, his plateauing career was successfully bolstered by this fresh play penned by Britain's most exciting young playwright.

A theatre-centric story - essentially a eulogy to the recently-deceased British music hall - The Entertainer nonetheless works brilliantly on film and contains perhaps our pre-eminent theatre titan's most accomplished screen performance.

Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? - Mike Nichols (1966)

The film adaptation of Edward Albee's Tony Award-winning play came four years after its original Broadway premiere. Recast for the big screen, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? co-stars the renownedly volatile pairing of Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton. Then-married, Burton and Taylor were to divorce eight years later, before marrying again a year later, followed by a second and final divorce nine months after. A constant source of scandal fodder for the tabloid press, it's little wonder they spar so believably on-screen.

This film was Mike Nichols' debut as a filmmaker, following a run of stage successes. His follow-up, The Graduate (1968), became one of the defining films of the '60s.

Oliver! - Carol Reed (1968)

The 1960's was a particularly strong decade for musicals adapted for the big screen. My Fair Lady (1964) stormed the Oscars, winning Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actor for Rex Harrison as Henry Higgins. A year later, The Sound of Music - starring the original Eliza Doolittle, Julie Andrews - scooped Best Picture and Director. (The following year's Oscars were dominated by the film adaptation of Robert Bolt's play A Man For All Seasons - winning Best Picture, Director and Actor. What a time to be a theatre-lover!)

Oliver! - Lionel Bart's musical adaptation of Charles Dickens' Oliver Twist - had only just finished its record-breaking seven year-run in the West End when its film adaptation was released in cinemas. Carol Reed was at the helm, with Ron Moody reprising his well-received stage portrayal of Fagin, relative unknown Shani Wallis playing the heartbreaking Nancy and Oliver Reed - the director's nephew - picked for the menacing role of Bill Sykes.

Reed's film fleshes out the Victorian setting with stunning visuals and enlivens the songs with exceptional set-pieces - the film's choreographer, Onna White, received an honorary Oscar for her pains.

Whilst this film remains securely in the public's affection, it's perhaps a surprise that it won not only the 1969 Academy Award for Best Picture but Carol Reed was named Best Director over Stanley Kubrick - nominated for 2001: A Space Odyssey, no less!

The Rocky Horror Picture Show - Jim Sharman (1975)

Now celebrating its 50th Anniversary, The Rocky Horror Picture Show is a screen classic that almost never was.

Richard O'Brien's stage musical had already gained a following on both sides of the Atlantic when its Picture Show counterpart came along in 1975 - directed by the show's original director, Jim Sharman, and starring Tim Curry in his film debut as Dr Frank-N-Furter ('the sweet transvestite from transsexual Transylvania.')

After a lukewarm reception on first release, it took a year and a succession of midnight movie screenings for the film to gather momentum towards being the phenomenon it has since become. Fifty years later, it holds the record for longest-ever theatrical release and is still playing in select cinemas today.

Late-night screenings of Rocky Horror continue to attract a legion of fans who sing-along, quote-along and heckle the characters throughout the film. This transgressive air of communal misrule has since been adopted by the stage show to incorporate audience interaction as a vital part of the action.

The ultimate cult classic, The Rocky Horror Picture Show not only discovered a new audience through cinema but fundamentally changed the very nature of the show's live experience thereafter.

Feel free to share your thoughts on stage-to-screen adaptations in the comments, below.